First Power

The Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine — at the time operating as Samsung Heavy Industries' (SHI) flagship 7 MW S-7.0-171 prototype demonstrator — achieved first power in March 2014 when it entered final commissioning at the Fife Energy Park in Methil, Scotland. The single 7 MW offshore turbine had its nacelle installed on 18 October 2013 with three blades subsequently attached to provide a 171 m rotor diameter; Samsung had announced installation completion at that time with testing expected by year-end 2013. By 4 March 2014 industry trade press (Recharge) confirmed the turbine had entered final commissioning, with the 196 m blade-tip-to-sea-level installation having become the world's largest and most powerful offshore wind turbine at the time. Samsung had invested £70 million in the demonstrator project. The turbine is located just 50 m from the Methil coast on a jacket foundation in shallow water, accessible from shore via a short ramp. The turbine was operated by Samsung from 2014 until ORE Catapult completed its acquisition on 15 December 2015, with formal inauguration as the Levenmouth Demonstration Turbine on 29 February 2016 by Scottish Government Minister Fergus Ewing. Operations and maintenance has been managed by SgurrEnergy on behalf of ORE Catapult since 2016. Note: month-precision used because the source confirms March 2014 commissioning but no specific day. The turbine has since served as an open-access research platform rather than a commercial generator.